The copper-nickel five-cent piece is the only United States coin that is still being manufactured to the same standards as when it debuted. Since 1866 this coin has weighed exactly five grams and has consisted of 75% copper and 25% nickel. Though this alloy was suspended during World War II, as noted below, it was restored immediately afterward.

   Since 1938 the nickel has carried the portrait of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States of America. It was Jefferson who drafted the Declaration of Independence and who later prompted Congress to make the epic Louisiana Purchase of western lands from Napoleon’s France. Though a champion of individual liberty, Jefferson, as a wealthy Virginia planter, owned numerous slaves, and this seeming contradiction contributes to the complexity many have observed in his character.

   As the familiar Indian Head/Buffalo Nickel achieved its statutory minimum production of 25 years in 1938, the Treasury Department sponsored a competition to select designs for its replacement. It set forth that the obverse of the new nickel must feature a portrait of Jefferson based on Jean-Antoine Houdon’s famous bust, while the reverse would display a view of Jefferson’s self-designed home, Monticello. The winner of the competition was German-American sculptor Felix Schlag, who received a mere $300 for his designs and models. After some modifications, the new coin debuted in the fall of 1938.

   Jefferson Nickels were struck at the mints in Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco, the latter two featuring tiny mintmarks to the right of Monticello. During its first two years of issue only Philadelphia coined Jefferson Nickels in numbers large enough for the coins to become common in circulation, but this changed in 1940 when all three mints geared up to meet the demands of the booming wartime economy.

   America’s actual entry into the war at the end of 1941 signaled the need for a change in the five-cent piece to preserve precious nickel for the manufacture of armor plating. Commencing October 8, 1942 the “nickel” ceased to include that metal for the duration of the war. In its place was substituted an alloy of copper, silver and manganese. It was thought at the time that the “war nickels” would be withdrawn when peace came, so each bore an oversized mintmark placed directly above the dome of Monticello for ease in identification. As it is, these coins remained in circulation until their silver content made them worth more than face value in the late 1960s.

   With the resumption of the normal copper-nickel alloy in 1946, the small ‘D’ and ‘S’ mintmarks returned to their usual position, and the letter ‘P’ used for Philadelphia coins during the war was dropped. No further changes occurred with the Jefferson Nickel until 1966, when Felix Schlag received a belated recognition of his work with the addition of letters ‘FS’ at the truncation of Jefferson’s bust.

   During 1965-67 the U. S. Mint suspended the use of mintmarks to discourage the saving of coins by collectors and speculators. This was in response to a severe shortage of coins that had developed earlier in the decade. Mintmarks were restored at the beginning of 1968, but their new position was on the obverse to the right of Jefferson’s queue.

   Proof examples of the Jefferson Nickel for collectors were coined at the Philadelphia Mint from 1938 through 1942, the latter date being offered in both the normal and emergency alloys. Suspended thereafter, proof sales resumed in 1950 and continued through 1964, when the coin shortage prompted another suspension. For 1965-67 the Mint offered pseudo proof coins that it labeled as Special Mint Sets. The quality of these coins varied, some looking little better than ordinary pieces, while others were fully the equal of proofs. Sales of proof sets resumed in 1968, but these coins were henceforth produced at the San Francisco Mint and carried its ‘S’ mintmark.

   San Francisco also coined nickels for circulation through 1970, after which time its production was limited to proofs. Since 1980 all nickels struck at the Philadelphia Mint have carried a ‘P’ mintmark, whereas previously this letter had been used solely for the wartime issues.

   The Jefferson Nickel has undergone a number of makeovers beginning in 1971. Since that time the relief has been steadily lowered and the details sharpened. A special issue of circulating commemorative nickels replaced the familiar design during 2004-05, and these are described in a separate entry.

   Beginning in 2006, Schlag’s profile portrait of Jefferson was replaced with a facing image by Jamie Franki that was based on an 1800 portrait by Rembrandt Peale. The Franki design was completed at the U.S. Mint by one of its own sculptors, Donna Weaver, and it includes the legend Liberty as wrought in Jefferson’s own hand. Heralded as the “Return to Monticello,” the 2006 nickels once again featured a view of Jefferson’s stately home, the original model having been sharpened by the U.S. Mint’s John Mercanti. Felix Schlag was not forgotten, however, as his initials were moved to the right of Monticello, the position formerly occupied by the mintmark decades ago. Though labeled by the U. S. Mint as part of the Westward Journey series of commemorative nickels, it is believed that this same design will be retained for the five-cent piece in coming years.